MDC-T files urgent court application challenging Mugabe

Spokesman for the Tsvangirai led MDC, Douglas Mwonzora today [Thursday] told SW Radio Africa that his party has filed an urgent court application challenging the legality of what the President has done.

Mwonzora said: "we are not appealing against the Constitutional Court decision per se. We are saying the constitution has not been followed and the Constitutional Court must examine or review whether the constitution has been followed by the action of Mugabe."

According to SW Radio, the MDC formations in the inclusive government are set to present the regional leaders with a dossier of complaints, highlighting violations of previous agreements, at the extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe in Maputo on Saturday.

MDC President Welshman Ncube said: "The ball is now in SADC's court, do they accept to be deceived this way? Do they accept the brazen contempt against them? If SADC allows Mugabe to get away with this, it would be a very, very sad indictment on them.

"On our part, we will go to SADC on Saturday and place it on record that we feel cheated by the scoundrels in Zanu PF."

Analyst Piers Pigou from the International Crisis Group said Mugabe's actions have profound political implications, with a range of different interpretations. He said it would appear to be part of the ongoing "brinkmanship" that has been seen, particularly from ZANU PF in the last few months - a political game to strengthen his hand at the SADC summit around the disputed reform agenda.

"I think it is going to be absolutely critical to see whether the five (opposition) political parties come together as they did last week and issue a joint statement in response to this.

"A joint statement from the five political parties will, I think, make SADC sit up and take note and make for a more robust engagement at the SADC summit in terms of what SADC is going to be able to mediate," Pigou said.

MDC99 leader Job Sikhala blamed the crisis on all the political actors in the inclusive government. He said: "Those people who have been with ZANU PF in the inclusive government are stupid. They have betrayed the people of Zimbabwe. We have been expecting Welshman Ncube and Morgan Tsvangirai to force ZANU PF to have political reforms. They have been in this government and have never done anything. The three political parties are responsible for the crisis. For five years I never thought they would bring to the table this nonsense."